Electrically-operated elevator-gate mechanism.



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Patented Doo. 5,1911.

`S55- v l 5' 1 :1f

o. comu. BLEOI'IIOALL! DPEBATBD ELEVATOB GATE IEUHAIIBI GEANT COLBY, FNEW PARIS, OHIO.

ELECTBICALLY-OPEBATED ELEVATORfGATE MECHANISBL peotclttoa of LettenPatent.

Patented nee. n, 1911.

Application lied October 1I, 1910. lei-tnt No. 586,835.

Toallwlom it may concern: Be it known that I, GRANT Count, a eltizen ofthe United States, and a resident. of New Paris, in the county of Prebleand State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inan Electrlcall -Operated Elevator-Gate Mechanism, of which the followingis a full, clear, and accurate specificalloa. 1- l0 The object. of mypresent invention, broadly speaking, is to provide an eleetrlcally oroblez open at will, elevator-gate mechanlsln wlncll will be positiveill action, strong and durable in construction, easily operated l5 andcontrolled, simple in all of its warts and vcally of installation, andwhich can manufaetured and sold at a ycomparatively low price.

More specifically statedV nl v object ls to rovide ll mechanism of thenature above` sei orth whereby the elevator 'atea wllich ard the varioushatehways o an velevator 'e aft-will remain closed, regardless of thenumber of times the elevator ear passes up 8 8 and down, until auch timeas shall be desired bythe operator of the elevator car. alld then onlyproviding the lloor of the elevator car is even, or nearly so, with oneof the lloorsl of the building.

80 Another olrjeet is to provide a mechanism of the character designatedwhereby the vllrious elevator-gates which guard the hatchways throu 'hthe various lloors will remain c osed nati such time as designated b vthe I8 operator when tlle lloor of the elevator car in near one offthefloors of the building, such designation being: accom llixbed b v thepressure ol a button or the li te. mailing all electrical coluloction.which will causo the gate at. that lloor ttlbe opened cha'trically.

Utherqobjeets and particular advantages of tnv invention will be broughtont and nnlde apparent in the course o the l'l-llowlng lhlscrlplion whentaken ill conn-rlich with the accompanying drawings l'ornlilll: a

parli of this specification.

(lne manner for carr vin,1r out the objects of my invention in anactical nlanncr and that, which in practice have found to be the unisiydesirable null satisfactory is shown ill the accompanying drawings, inwhich Figure l is a front clevlltioll of certain parts of nl vinvention. showing-saule in oonnection with various tloors of abuilding. the

bb elevator ahaft, and the gates for the variolm oors. "ien 2 is aperspectiva view o" substantially the same arts as shown in Fig. 1 withthe addition o the elevator carto operate between the various floors.Fig. 3 shows a side elevation of certain features of the inso vention,but more particularly showing the electrical connections. Fig. 4 is anenlarged detail sido elevation of two of4 the electrleal contactsshowing their relative positions with re ation to each other. Fig. f5 isan a5 enlarged detail showing a front; elevation of the latch forcontrolling the elevator gates; Fig. ti is a side elc"ation of the latchin connection with the cani carried by the elevator ear; ["i". 7 isaviewof thesanle parte shownin 70 Fig. (i but ill this instance showingthc latch engaged. Fig. S a perspective vie'f.' of onc vof the catcheslor holding.: the gates open.

Fig. 9 is a side. elevation of the ctltch shown in Fig. 8 and IShowingrsaule disengagcl'l. 75 Fig. 10 shows' a side elevation of the. slimecatch engaged. Fig. ll allows a front eleva.- tion of one of the circuitbreakers connected; alnl Fig. l2 is a lside elevation of one of thecircuit breakerl disengagwl. 80

Similar indices denote like parte throughout. the lseveral views.

In ordc'r to clearly explain the construe. tloll and thc yo eration otnl)l invention I have shown it nl connection with au clevator-carhaving' a lloor or body the two sales, or vertical bars. n and 1'extendingl from the cenlcr ol the sides. and the crossbar A. Extending ui l'roln the center of crow-bar A' is llle caille ll. b v which the 90cal' is ellis-cd and lowered ill any well known manner. l

und (7' llcnolc lllc tno idc'posllt having guides b v which the elevatorcar is guided dircetlv up lllld down'through thc shaft 05v fornledlhrouL'lrthc various floors ll. E and lf of a building'. Suitable cornerposta may also be lrovided, as for instance posts v(i.

ll. l and J. although these are not eseential to nl v ulveutioll. exceptthat thev provide nicnas 'lol mounting the various` gates hereinal'lcl'mentioned. bilidablc up and dowll ill suitable guideways, between postsll and l (or between lusts G and J) arethe various gates K. L ont M, onefor each floor, which ,105 nrc adapted to rest on the floors ulld closethe hatehways of the respective lloors I), E

'lbe several pal-lsl above enlunerated are old in the art and they maybc variouslv Ilo changed as desired to moet varioua condi lt has beencustomary heretofore to open the various gates manually, or to have themopen automatically, or semi-automatically, each time the elevator car)assed any particnhir lloor. I willnow dlescribe the construction bywhichr the several rates may be opened electrically, but only w ien theelevator car is near a iarticular floor and then only when desired y theoperator.

umeral 1 denotes a bar which extends n and down through the buildingreaching all of the floors, and it is carried by suitable guides 2, 2'and 2" which nia besecured to ostI or to other parts of tie building asouml most convenient. Secured to the upper end of bar 1 is a chain orcable 3 which projects up through uide 4, then over sheaves 5 and 6, andtien downward, with the weiht 7 secured to its other end, as indicatesaid weight being such as to normally raise the bar 1 to its iighestposition, there being a cushion spring 19 contacting with guide 4 whichprevents the bar 1 from stop in too abruptly when it moves upwar letweeneach floor a fin er is secured to the bar 1,-these being in icated inthis instance by indices 8, 8 and 8" for the res iective floors.

1 umerals 9, 9 and 9" denote the respective ropes, cords or cables whichare secured to the gates K, L and M. Said ropes or the like extendupward, to one side, and then downward, each passing over two sheaves10-10; 10-10"'and 10-10*, respectively, all of said sheaves beinglocated near their respective ceilings as shown.

nmeral 11 denotes` an electric motor which is operative upon the gearingdevice 12. Mounted on the frame of the earing is the vertically disposeds ool 13 w ich is adapted to be revolved by t ie motor 11 but, by reasonof said gearing, at a greatly reduced rate of speed:

Numeral 14 denotes n cable, or the like, having one end secured to theupper end of the bar 1 b means of the bracket 15. From said lirae et thecable 14 extends down under sheave 18 and then out and around spool 13where it is secured, being of such lenfrth as to allow the proper amountof en: wise movementl to the bar 1.

Secured parallel with post l'but. disposed a slight distance therefromare the permunent liars 1li, 16' and 16, that is one for cat-h gate K, Land M, respectively. Each of said liars extends from Sonie distanceabove its respective loor to u considerable distance below that. lloor.Slidably mounted on each of the last. mentioned bars is a latchmechanism, the same being identical with euch other. which l will nowdescribe, referring more particularly' lo the latch mechanism of thelower gate, and indicating like parts for the other gates by similarnumerals with exponents, corresponding the lower end of said stem is theshoe 2l which operates up and down on'the liar 1.6. Secured on the upperend of stem .0 is the shoe 22 which has an outwardlyextending loop whichis for the purpose hereinafter appearing.' Iivoted at its lower end toguide 21 is the ann 23 which extends up through said loo of the guide22. Secured on'the upper en of arm 23 is the latch 21 which is dis iosedat right-angles to the arm 23. One end of said latch extends out to theside of the bar 1 and it is provided with a hooked-end which is adaptedto engage the under edge of the finger 8,'as indicated in Fig. 7,that'is when t ie arni 23 is parallel with said liar 1. By reason ofsaid loop in the guide 22 the arm 23 may be disposed at an angle asindicated by the dotted lines in Fig. (l, thereby withdrawing the hookportion of the latch 24 from alinement with the finger 8 so that it may,not be engaged thereby. Mounted on the other end of the latch 24 is aroller 25, which provides a roller contact for enga rement with the cam26 hereinafter referre to. Said latch is operable by said cam 26, therebeing but one cam 2G and that is secured to and is continuously carriedby the elevator car. The lower end of com 26 is secured to the side ofthe floor or base A of the elevator car, and the upier end thereof issecured by brace 27 w ich extends therefrom downward at an angle to thefloor or base A, as

indicated in Fig. 2. Extending out from guides 21, 21 and 21 are thearms 28, 28' A and 28", res ectively, each having an eye in its outer.Ient in which is secured one end .0f the res ective ropes or cords 9,typo- 9".

A cate is provided for retaining the gates open at their highestelevation after the motor has been cut out, there being one of .saidcatches for each gate, substantially as that shown in Figs. 8*, t) and10. 'lhe guides 2,'2" and 2" form each a {iai-t of each of said catches,the faces tif-sait guides being beveled as in Fig. 9, for the pai-posehereinafter made apparent. liach of said catches includes a llat memberformed ot' spring material comprising a lix'ed portion "v which isrigidly'sccuied to bar l, from which extends downwardly the curved poi'-tion ai of considerable length, then the upwardly extending portion 1/which may lie parallel at times with bar l, and then the y short portionwhich is lient. out from the upper end tif-part. 1/ to engage the factofthe bar' l. Normally said upper portion of the part 1/ stands away l'iombar l so as not. to engage the guide 2, but it is adapted to be pressedback against. said liar by means of the cani 26.

The electrical arrangements are shown most clearly in Fig. 3, tl'" motor11 bein shown as located on the second floor, but it may as well heplaced oi either of the other floors, or it may lie placeo at any otherpoint as will .bc found inost. convenient.

In the drawings numerals 50 and 51 denotethe two service wires whichlead in from lthe vsource of electrical supply, the former beingconnected directly to the motor while the latter has other connectionswhich will be fully set forth.

Extending above and below each tloor and secured on eah side of thecenter of the hatchway are the respective airs of fixed contacts 52--52253--53 an 5ft-54', for the respective floors I), E and F.

Numeral 55 denotes a main wire extend- 4ing from contact 52 upward to`thetop of the building, there being a circuit-breaker interposed thereinnear thie ceiling above eacliilooi-,said circuit-.breakers being shownmost clearly in detail views in Figs. 11 and 12, each comprising a fixedmember 56, and the sliding member 57, the latter being carriedin the han'ers 58 und 59. The upper .end of the mein )er 57 is turned outtit-right anglesforming the horizontal tinger 60.

Secured to the upper part of each gat-e, for instance gate K, iii thearm (l1, saine having an otlset whereby it. extends out be 'ond thegate, clearing tie hangers 58 an 59 and ada )ted to engage theundersideof tin er 60 or the purpose of liftin the neem er 57 out of contact withinem r 56, as in Figa-'12.. fire 55 is of coursebroken at each of saidcircuit-breakers, one end thereof being secured to member -56 and theother end being secured to hanger 5B (or 59). Now when member 57 islifted up the circuit will be broken at that point, and when it. is downthe circuit may pass there.- through. A second wire, (i2, extends fromcontact 52 to the top of the building same being. connected to servicewire 5l. At tloci' l) a branch wire 63 extends ott' from wire 55 tocontact 53', tind also from wire 62 a branch wire (i4 extends otl'connecting with contact 535 At floor F 'a branch 65 extends oil fromwire 55 to contact 54', and from wire 62 a brtinch wire 66 extends ottconnecting with contact- 54. As above intimated the service wire 51 isconnected to the inain wire 62. and wire 67 extends from wire 55 to themotor, that is to the opposite pole ot the inotor from thaty of wire 50.

Nuiuerals (i8 alnl (it) denote the two niovable contacts which are oflike construction but theyare oppositely disposed to theal'orenientioned or permanent contacts, and said contacts (3S and 69 arecarried on one edge of tliel floor A of the car in such position that.as the ear nieves up and down the contact 68 inny impinge contact 52,

53 or 54, and at sante time that contact (it) iinpinges contacts 52', 53or 54', as is indicated in Fig. 4. Said contacts 68 and 69 are locatednome distance apart, as indicated in Fig. 3. Located on seine part ofthe elevator car, within reach of the operator, is a insli-liutton, orswitch, 70. Connected wit i the two ioles of the button or switch arethe wires l. and 72 which connect with contat-.m68 and 69. respectively.Said pusli-button is of ordinary construction so made that when thebutton is pressed an electric current may pass therethrough, whilenormally the'circuit will be broken therein, that. is when the button isreleased. 'llio operation of my invention is as follows: It is apparent.that the weight of the various gates, K, L and M, will within themselvesnormally retain them lowered or closed, as shown in Fig. 1, and in theupper part of Fig. 2. Also it is apparent that the elevator car may be.operated up und down 'from the top to the liottoin of the building, orvice versa, without operating any ot' said gates and without'anvattention on the part ofl the operator. And it will .he impossible forthe operator of the carto cause eitht i' of the gates to be raised,electrically, unless the floor of the car is near to or even with one ofthe floors of the building, and it will also be observed that only oneof said gates may be so raised at one time, regardless of the number ofgates there may be. With the above clearly in mitici suppose. now forinstance, that as the car approaches floor E then contacts 68 and 69 wil connect with contacts 53 and 53', Iand surface of tloor E, yet. eventhen the gate will remain closed, but if the operator at this time pressthe button or switch 7U then the electric circuit will be establishedwhich will operatethe motor 11, that. is to say the motor will then beconnected with both of the service wires 50 aiid 51,-tlie formerdirectly, and the latter tl'irougli wire 6:2 and wire`64 to contact`53,then through contact 68 and wire 71 to the button 70, then through wire72 to contact (19, then from the latter to contact 53' to wire 63, andfrom the lutter to wire 55 and then to the niotor i1 through wire G7,thereby completing ythe circuit, and ot' course causing tht` motor tooperate and. turning the spool 13, thereby causing Athe cable ll to windthcrcarouiul and resulting in drawiinr the bar l downh H y ward endwise,tliereli \r raising weight 7. as in. Fig. Now as thc har l is heiliglowered while the elevator car is al floor E it is evidentv that thecani Qt'rwill. previously. have pressed the latch .24 to such positionthat as bar 1 moves' downward the linger S', carried thereb will en saidlatchi24 asin Fi 7, theiieb carrgyaiie the latch inechanis downw'artherewit which of course will result in pulling the rope or cord 9 and acausing the te L to rise as the bar 1 descende. As t ie gate rises tothe height deaired then the -arm 61 will engage the finger 60 therebylifting the member 67 ont of contact with member 50 thereby resultin in10 breaking the current at that point an of course sto ping theoperation of the motor, and there y stoping the upward movement of thegate. ow if no catching means we re provided it is evident that as soonas the power was cut ofl from the motor that the gate would immediatelydrop back to its closed position, but the catching device is so placedthat it comes into action as soon as the current is broken by the saidcircuit breaker. Now as the bar 1 descends then the curved portion ai ofthe catch will impinv the cam 26 which manifestly w'll s ring the part ytoward the bar 1' causin t e upper portion of part y to engage sai 2Bbar 1 and then slide down over the bevel of guido 2' and finally springott' of the lower edge of guide 2' simultaneous with the breaking of thecurrent, therefore as the gate starts to drop then the upper portion 80of art y of the catch will engage under gui e 2 and hold all of saidparts in osition as shown between floors E and in Fig. 2. Now as the carleaves either of the floors or landings, for instance floor E, going 85in either direction up or down, it is evident that the contacts 08 and69 will be separated from the stationary contacts 53 and 58', re-

ively,for instance. Simultaneous with t e above the cam 26 will. releasethe flat spring member o, ai, y, and allow it to spring y back releasinit from the guide 2', thereby allowing the ar 1 to be lifted up to itslimit by the weight 7, and allowin t e gate then open to drop back toclose position. As t ie gate starts back to closed position it willrelease member 57 and allow it to drop down in contact with member 56,again connecting theI electric circuit at. that point. In fact as thecar leaves floor E (or any other floor) BQ all of the devices willautomaticnll assume their normal positions, substantial y as indicatedin Fig. l. It is also evident that the saine thiol; may occur at eachfloor as that just statei as occurring at floor E.

55 l desire that it be ully understood that various changes may be niadein the several details of construction herein s'hown and described, andthat inialificatious nml substitu tions may be incorporated within thelimits l0 of' the invent ion without departing from thc .spirit of myinvention or sacrificing any ol' the advantages thereof.

llaviug now fully shown the liest ex amplification of uiy invention tome known 66 at this time. what I claim and desire to secure by LettersPatent of the United States, is

l. An electrically operated elevator gate mechanism comprising thecombination with a plurality et' gates each normally closing an entranceto an elevator shaft, and an elevator-cnr movable in said shaft; of abnr extending from the top to the bottom of said shaft regardless of thenumber of gates, n weight normally retaining said-bar in its highestposition, a motor adapted to lower said bar, an indeiendent stationarybar for each lloor locat parallel vwith the first named bar andextending above and below its floor, a latch mechanism slidiible on eachof said independent bars and comprising a stein, a' shoe carried on the,lower end of the stein, a guide having an outwardly extending loop, anarm 28 pivoted at the lower cnd to said shoe and extendin u through saidloop of the guide, a iatcii member secured near its center to the upperend of said arm 23 and having a hooked end located near the first namedbar, a

finger secured to the first named bar which is adapted, under certainconditions, to be engaged by said latch member, a roller mounted on theother end of said latch member, a cam carried by the elevator-car andadapted to press against said roller to move thc hitch member intoposition to be engaged by said finger, means carried by the elevator-carfor starting the motor at the will of the operator vhereb the latchmechanism then pressed by sait cam will be engafred by said finger asthe first named bar is owered by the motor a-nd *hereby raising the gateat that floor, substantially as set forth.

2. An electrically operated elevator gate mechanism comprising thecombination with a plurality of gates each normally closing an cnt ranceto an elevator-shaft, and un elevator-car movable in said shaft; of u.single bar extending the full length of the elevator-shaft and adaptedto be operated vertically. a weight noriiuilly rctainin said bar in itslii liest position, a motor iii iipted to lower sait bnr, an independentstationary bai' for euch gate each extending above and below the floorat which it is located, a latch mechanism mounted on cach of saidstationary liars, means carried at each floor by tho -first niiined barfor engaging said latch' nierlianisiii, a s stem of electric wirlingwliich'is normal y broken, means carricd'by the car for completing theelectric circuit. if desired by the operator of the car but only whenthe cnr is ncar'one of' the floor landings, a drnni adapted to berevolved by the motor. a cable adapted to be wound oiitlie drum. theother end of said cable being attached to the first named liar whereby.said bnl' will be lowered` when tlic motor is operated, a flexibleconnection beizo lli

:,oiom u tween each of said latch mechanisms and its gate wheiieby as alatch mechanism is engaged by the first named bar the ate located at thesame floor as is the e evatprcar will be raised, and means for breakingthe electric circuit when the gate has rcached'the height desired, allsubstantially as set forth.

3. An electrically operated elevator gate inee anisin comprising thecombination will. a plurality of gates each normally clos ng an entranceto an elevator-shaft, and an elevator-car movable in said shaft, of abar extending from the to to the bottom of said shaft regardless o thenumber of ates, a weight normally retaining said bar 1n its highestposition, a motor adapted to lower said bar, a latch for each gate, nnindependent bar for each gate, each latch being slidable on one of saidindenenrlent bar, a

GRANT oo'LisY.

Witnesses:

` ltoimirr W.'RANDLE, l R. E. Rascals.

